AFL Finals Wild Card

[philcas]

There has been some talk around the AFL traps that we should implement a wild card system for finals similar to American football
My question is why?
Doesn't this just make the finals for the top 10 or 12
Can other please provide reasons why it is a good idea I just cant see the point.

[MW]

Keeps the bottom 8 sides playing for something
I don't like it personally

[philcas]

The only thing that may be worth while for the bottom 8 is to play for draft picks

Personally I think it should be a raffle with the bottom side having 8 chances to get first pick then second bottom gets 7 then 6 then 5 then 9-12 only get 1 chance after the first round it goes by ladder position.
Once a team has had their name been picked out they are removed from the raffle
Once this is done then you can trade your picks

[Booney]

Keeps the bottom 8 sides playing for something
I don't like it personally

Bottom 10*

[Booney]

The only thing that may be worth while for the bottom 8 is to play for draft picks

Personally I think it should be a raffle with the bottom side having 8 chances to get first pick then second bottom gets 7 then 6 then 5 then 9-12 only get 1 chance after the first round it goes by ladder position.
Once a team has had their name been picked out they are removed from the raffle
Once this is done then you can trade your picks

And use a pointy ball, with gloves and padding.....I say no. No to Americanising our game any more.

Equalization, what the draft is meant to do, has all gone to shit with the Suns and Giants being gifted as much top end talent as they have. It's the very reason Geelong, Hawthorn and Sydney have been able to sustain decade long runs at the top and will continue to with free agents lining up at all their doors.

Making the draft an y more convoluted than what it already is won't bring the bottom sides up any time soon. The AFL has created a monster with GWS and free agency and the sides in the bottom half of the bottom 10 ( minus Essendon ) better get used to it down there.

[Booney]

Back on the topic at hand, a wild card? Not for mine, no.

You've got 22 matches and need to win 14 of them to play finals, that's enough opportunity without being gifted a final.

[woodublieve12]

No...

[Spargo]

Don't reward mediocrity.

[Jim05]

Don't reward mediocrity.

We already do though.
7-8 are zero hope of winning a Premiership. Should only be a top 5 or 6 at most

[Spargo]

Don't reward mediocrity.

We already do though.
7-8 are zero hope of winning a Premiership.

Neither are 4th to 6th going on history.
Might as well make it a final 3 going on your theory.

[bennymacca]

I think 8/18 is a good enough amount for a finals series. You cant say that any of the current top eight are bad sides - they may not all be capable of winning a premiership, but they are all good sides.

You cant say that of St Kilda and Port.

I know this year is 1 sample point but the sides outside the eight this year dont deserve any part of it.

[daysofourlives]

Just go EPL style for this year

[FlyingHigh]

But even with the wildcards, only 12/32 make the playoffs in the NFL which is a smaller percentage than the AFL anyway.

The reasoning of the wildcards is not applicable due to the AFL - divisions, conferences and only 16 games. Teams play 2 games against the teams in their division, 6 against other teams from their conference, so 6 others they don't, and 4 from a division in the other conference. Last year was a perfect example of the misnomers this can throw up - middle-of-road at best Washington (9-7) winning a poor NFC East whilst in the NFC North two genuine play-off teams in Minnesota (11-5) and Green Bay (10-6) played the last game to win their division. Green Bay lost, became a wildcard team and proceeded to thump Washington. Likewise Houston (9-7) won a piss-weak AFC South and were thumped by a play-off strength Kansas City (11-5) who were second in their conference to eventual champions Denver.

There is sufficient talent to have eight strong finals teams. The AFL want to keep interest towards the end of the minor round. Fourteen team comp.

[Booney]

Just go EPL style for this year

What, give each team a point for a 0-0 draw? **** that.

[Booney]

But even with the wildcards, only 12/32 make the playoffs in the NFL which is a smaller percentage than the AFL anyway.

The reasoning of the wildcards is not applicable due to the AFL - divisions, conferences and only 16 games. Teams play 2 games against the teams in their division, 6 against other teams from their conference, so 6 others they don't, and 4 from a division in the other conference. Last year was a perfect example of the misnomers this can throw up - middle-of-road at best Washington (9-7) winning a poor NFC East whilst in the NFC North two genuine play-off teams in Minnesota (11-5) and Green Bay (10-6) played the last game to win their division. Green Bay lost, became a wildcard team and proceeded to thump Washington. Likewise Houston (9-7) won a piss-weak AFC South and were thumped by a play-off strength Kansas City (11-5) who were second in their conference to eventual champions Denver.

There is sufficient talent to have eight strong finals teams. The AFL want to keep interest towards the end of the minor round. Fourteen team comp.

Then they take a weekend off before the finals. Massive cock up.

[carey]

Just go EPL style for this year

What, give each team a point for a 0-0 draw? **** that.

Lindsay Thomas would be brilliant in the EPL

[bennymacca]

The only way I can see it going is if they adopt the 17-5 model.

Everyone plays everyone once, then gets split into 3 divisions.

Top 6 then play each other for top 4 spots.

Middle 6 play - and then 7-10 and 8-9 play off to be the last teams in the finals.

Then the bottom 6 play for extra balls in a draft lottery.

Not saying I 100% agree with they system but if there were to be wildcard playoffs that's where it would come in

[stan]

Honestly I think its not needed. You have a top 8. Let it be as the other teams wikd card entry will just be cannon fodder.

[FlyingHigh]

But even with the wildcards, only 12/32 make the playoffs in the NFL which is a smaller percentage than the AFL anyway.

The reasoning of the wildcards is not applicable due to the AFL - divisions, conferences and only 16 games. Teams play 2 games against the teams in their division, 6 against other teams from their conference, so 6 others they don't, and 4 from a division in the other conference. Last year was a perfect example of the misnomers this can throw up - middle-of-road at best Washington (9-7) winning a poor NFC East whilst in the NFC North two genuine play-off teams in Minnesota (11-5) and Green Bay (10-6) played the last game to win their division. Green Bay lost, became a wildcard team and proceeded to thump Washington. Likewise Houston (9-7) won a piss-weak AFC South and were thumped by a play-off strength Kansas City (11-5) who were second in their conference to eventual champions Denver.

There is sufficient talent to have eight strong finals teams. The AFL want to keep interest towards the end of the minor round. Fourteen team comp.

Then they take a weekend off before the finals. Massive cock up.

Agree, don't think we'll see it again.
Wrote it from the tone that the media keep talking about how the interest isn't there with the obvious 8-10 gap this year and the hypothetical that AFL would be concerned about this.

[Grahaml]

We keep thinking there is no interest in the games when there's not a top 8 position on the line, but is there really that much less interest? All the talk lately seems to be as much about Richmond, Brisbane, Essendon and Collingwood as it is about Hawthorn, Geelong, GWS and Sydney. Certainly in Adelaide there's the usual content talking about Port as it was early in the season.

Someone has to be bottom. At some point finals will be decided. The comp doesn't eliminate teams and if anything, once a team's chances are gone it just creates a different interest. Wild cards work in the US where they have division based playoffs. It eliminates the chance that the second best team in the league might otherwise miss out if they're in the same division as the best team. AFL has an overall ladder so it ends up being more like the NBA in a sense, which doesn't have wild card playoffs.